The Boston Red Sox have dismissed manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff, the team announced on Saturday. The decision comes with the club languishing in last place in the American League East with a 10-17 record. Cora, who led the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 wins and a World Series title in 2018, was fired after a 17-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles that snapped a four-game losing streak.
Chad Tracy, who had been managing Boston's Triple-A affiliate in Worcester, will serve as interim manager. Tracy is the son of former big league manager Jim Tracy. The Red Sox also parted ways with hitting coach Peter Fatse, third base coach Kyle Hudson, bench coach Ramón Vázquez, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson, and major league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin. Former captain Jason Varitek, a respected figure within the organisation, has been reassigned to an unspecified role.
Cora, 49, first joined the Red Sox as a player in 2005 and was part of the 2007 World Series-winning team. After serving as bench coach for the Houston Astros during their 2017 championship season, he was hired as Boston's manager in 2018. In his first season, the Red Sox set a franchise record for wins and defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. However, the team struggled in subsequent years, missing the playoffs in 2019 and finishing last in the shortened 2020 season.
Cora was suspended for the 2020 season for his role in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal and stepped down as Red Sox manager before returning in 2021. Under his leadership, Boston reached the playoffs in 2021 and 2024 but failed to advance past the American League Championship Series. The team's recent struggles have been compounded by the departures of key players, including Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Chris Sale, as well as the trade of Rafael Devers.
Owner John Henry expressed gratitude for Cora's contributions, stating, 'Alex Cora led this organization to one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history in 2018, and for that, and the many years that followed, he will always have our deepest gratitude.' Cora finishes his tenure with a 620-541 record and becomes the first manager fired this season.
